The Big Smackdown


Several weeks ago, the yarn shop that I frequent was having their spring sale to clear out the bulky winter yarns to make room for the summer weight yarns. I felt obligated to do my part.

So, I thought that since I was almost done with the Girl's hoodie I would pick up some yarn(Plymouth Dreambaby D.K. - very soft and machine washable) for Thing 1's SpongeBob sweater(of my own design). Although I have a pile of yarn waiting to be worked into the Husband's aran, I would now have a project waiting in the wings for those times I became disgusted with all of the mistakes I knew I would make on the aran and toss it aside for a few days.

Naturally the stuff I picked out wasn't on sale. While there I also picked up some yarn for baby booties. A co-worker of the Husband's just had their very own Thing 1 and Thing 2, and some friends of ours just had not only Things 1 and 2, but a 3!

As an added bonus during the sale, with every purchase you got to reach into the 'box of surprises' and grab a gift. Some were for discounts on future purchases, but I grabbed a $25 gift card! Woo-who!

To add to this elation, I finished the Girl's pink hoodie, and she loves it so much that she has worn it to the bus stop every morning, and I have not been able to get a picture of it.

(Finally got a picture since it's 70 degrees this morning, and she didn't need it).

Our weather has finally turned the corner to 'Springsteet'! A sweater is all the Girl needs in the morning. And just yesterday I saw as I was driving the first haze of green on a roadside bush, and a slight shade of yellow on a forsythia! I have crocus blooming in the front yard, and my Bradford pear trees are about to pop open their blooms. I love this time of year, in spite of my allergies.

Just when my heart was so full of silly joy that I felt like I might burst into song like Shirley Jones in "The Music Man" came the big smackdown. Tendonitis in my right thumb. I have a brace on my thumb, an anti-inflamatory prescription in the cabinet, and doctor's orders - no knitting for at least two weeks. Why don't you just tell me not to breathe, doc?


I also found out that D-Day for the #$%^& samurai hats is April 15. I have the knitting done, I just have to assemble. Doc didn't say anything about not assembling for two weeks.

Ready to Go

I've been waiting close to a month for this. The dishwasher was tired. Even though it was only 7 years old I figure in appliance years it was probably 15-20 years old. Here's how I see it: Dishwashers are designed to do one load a day, but our family of 6 ran the dishwasher with a full load at least twice, sometimes 3, times a day, hence tired.

Unfortunately, it decided to start leaking at the same time as the 13 year old fridge and the upstairs bathroom shower. Plus we were having highs of 10F when the Husband said he needed a new winter coat, because the old one just wasn't doing it for him anymore.

So the bathroom leak, coat(a gorgeous black leather number), and fridge repair came first, while I washed dishes by hand. By hand, people! For 6 people that must get a clean glass every time they want a sip of water.

So I sit here waiting for the handsome men(I know they are handsome, because any man that delivers a dishwasher after a month of hand washing is handsome). I'm so excited I could piddle on the floor like the bladder control issue, old spaniel.

I was about to hand wash those dishes in the sink, but then I realized that I need some dirty dishes to test out the new love of my dish cleaning life.

I think I'll make a cake, some cookies and brownies, and roast some big hunk of meat just so I can have more dirty dishes! I'm feeling giddy. I'd better have a lie down so I can get myself under control before they show up, if I don't I may not be able to contain myself.

I've been remiss

I've been remiss in thanking the Husband for the virtual flowers. I think he was a little hurt that the post immediately following the Valentine's post was not a post thanking him. John, I am sorry.

The flowers are beautiful, and the best part...much cheaper than the $60 you would have paid for real ones on Valentine's Day.

John is a fantastic husband that works hard for the family and has made many sacrifices and often gone sleep deprived for us. He is also a terrific father and best of all he gets to be the 'fun' parent.

Thanks, hon. I'll have your aran sweater done by this fall. I promise.